KUALA LUMPUR: At least 41 Malaysian government websites were hacked and defaced by a group protesting the authorities' move to shut down several free file-sharing websites in the country, officials said.

The attacks started at 11.30 p.m. Wednesday, Xinhua reported citing a statement from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the country's internet regulator.

There was little impact on Malaysian users as a result of the attack. Many of the websites have already been restored and it would not take long for an overall recovery, it said.

The MCMC said its website was also hit.

A group of hackers that calls itself "Anonymous" sent a threat via the internet Tuesday saying it was plotting a hacking attack dubbed "Operation Malaysia" aimed at the country's government-related websites.

The attack was due to the government's decision to block a series of file-sharing websites in an attempt to fight against piracy.

"These acts of censorship are inexcusable and we fear that if you make further decisions to take away human freedom," Anonymous said in a statement.